Observing and Interacting With Professionals, Children and Families in an Early Childhood Setting

Within these two weeks I observed and interacted with two of the 3’s teachers, Ms. Nichole and Ms. Caitlyn. These 2 teachers manage and teach 17 three year olds. During my observation I saw several small groups, large groups, and free-play. The first week the theme of the week was “On the ground”. This week the teachers had lots of activities, art, and group discussions about things that they would find on the ground. My favorite was when they took the children outside to see how many bugs they could find and identify from a book they previously read about bugs. The second week the theme was “Up in the sky”. This week the teachers had lots of activities, art, and group discussions about what they could find up in the sky. My favorite activity from this week was painting and filling a bird house with bird seed. One insight I want to share is that the teachers I observed were assessing the children throughout the whole day. During all the things that were going on in the classroom, in small group, large group, free play, centers, and even outside. Ms. Nichole told me that at the beginning of the year, the teachers assign themselves certain children to observe and assess. So as the teachers were involved in teaching, they were still paying close attention to all details. After each lesson, group, art, and activity, they jotted down what they learned about the children. Another insight I want to share is that the teachers I observed had a repoire with the parents. When the parents were dropping off their children the s spent about 2 to 3 minutes talking to them. Asking them how they were, how their night was, etc. Ms. Caitlyn said they do this to keep in touch and gain the trust of the parents so if ever they need to talk to the parent about early intervention or any problem, the parent won’t feel attacked or lied to. The parent would feel safe and comfortable talking about what needs to be done. While talking about assessments I asked Ms. Nichole about the challenges she faced. She told me that the only challenge she had was when both teachers wasn’t on the same page about a child. She told me that they overcame that challenge by assigning herself and Ms. Caitlyn equal number of children to observe and assess. When I asked Ms. Caitlyn about her challenges of assessments, she told me that the only challenge she faced was talking to the parents about their child needing intervention. A quote I want to share came from Ms. Nichole, she said, “To accurately, and successfully achieve the challenges of assessments you should be patient, honest, and objective.”